Growing Old, With Grace and Aches

To the Editor:

Re “The Beauty of Embracing Aging,” by Charles M. Blow (column, June 6):

I admire Mr. Blow’s elegiac paean to growing old, especially as my own experience has been quite different.

At 80, I find myself riding a roller coaster of emotions. One day I am filled with gratitude for all the material and social resources from which I have benefited. On the next I find myself raging against a body that can no longer be relied upon and is clearly wearing out.

Sociologists tell me that some who reach old old age experience a calming withdrawal from the kinds of complicated emotions marking the start of my ninth decade. Till then, I’m holding on tight, still thankful that the exhilarating, sometimes scary ride is not yet over.

Jonathan Silin
Toronto
The writer is the author of “Early Childhood, Aging and the Life Cycle: Mapping Common Ground.”

To the Editor:

Charles Blow is correct about how we should handle aging. But each year it becomes more difficult to do so.

The change in our appearance is shocking, as are the physical limitations that come with being old. But it’s not just the infirmities. It’s the losses. As we age we lose beloved family members, friends, neighbors, work colleagues and finally our independence.